Election 2000

By Ann Bisantz

Abstract

The controversies surrounding the November 2000 presidential election, specifically the difficulties encountered in interpreting imperfectly punched ballots, provide the backdrop for this case. Developed for an upper-level undergraduate course in human factors/ergonomics, the goal of the case is to help students recognize how engineering solutions can be brought to bear to solve problems of national importance. The case would also be appropriate for use in an upper-level undergraduate course in human-computer interaction or user centered design.

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Date Posted

08/05/2003

Overview

Objectives

To have students apply knowledge in user centered design to a real life design problem.
To reinforce concepts of mappings, conceptual models, feedback, and gulfs of execution and evaluation through their consideration in a real life system.
To allow students to incorporate individual characteristics of user populations in the design of multiple characteristics of a system (including computer input and output mechanisms, physical system design, software interaction styles) and to learn about potential interactions among these characteristics.
To provide students with an opportunity to develop a user centered testing process.

Keywords

Presidential election 2000; ballot; interface design; human computer interaction; ergonomics; gulf of evaluation; gulf of execution; voting machine design; hanging chad;

Subject Headings

Computer Engineering

Industrial Engineering

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

Undergraduate upper division

FORMAT

PDF

TOPICAL AREAS

Policy issues

LANGUAGE

English

TYPE/METHODS

Dilemma/Decision, Discussion, Problem-Based Learning

Teaching Notes & Answer Key

Teaching Notes

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Answer Key

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Materials & Media

Supplemental Materials

The following video clip (2.3 MB, mpeg, used with permission of General Registrar, Chesterfield County, Virginia) is referenced in the case and shows the process of voting with a punchcard system.

election.mpeg